The design and construction of a towing hitch for use with the load bed of a vehicle presents certain problems such as the amount of weight that can be towed and the installation of the hitch. Hitches including a hitch ball which is mounted approximately over the rear axle of a flat bed of a vehicle such as a pick-up truck are known. By placing the hitch ball above the rear axle the towed weight is increased over vehicles having a rear end type hitch. In order to allow the towed vehicle to be connected to this type of hitch a gooseneck type extension is utilized on the towing arm of the towed vehicle. The gooseneck is generally somewhat curved with the hitch portion being disposed at the forward end thereof and with the central portion thereof extending upwardly and over the rear of the towing vehicle.
The placement of the hitch ball in the cargo bed of the towing pick-up truck adversely affects the normal use of the cargo bed when the truck is not being used to pull a towed vehicle. In order to overcome this disadvantage there are known a number of hitches in which the hitch ball can be selectively removed from the hitch, thereby allowing normal use of the cargo bed when the pick-up truck is not being used to tow a vehicle such as a trailer. Such removable ball hitches can have certain problems such as the ball coming loose under certain circumstances and difficulties encountered while mounting or removing the ball from the hitch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,898 discloses a hitch assembly including a removable ball. The ball is secured to the hitch assembly by a spring loaded locking pin that is activated by a lever through the wheel well of a truck. The lever is pulled and locked open from outside the truck, from inside the truck bed the ball is removed, turned over and reinstalled in the same opening in the hitch assembly. The pin is reinstalled through the ball from outside the truck. This requires the operator to activate the releasing mechanism from outside the truck at the wheel opening, then get inside the truck bed to remove the ball and reposition it, and then return to the wheel opening to engage the release mechanism locking the ball into position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,222 discloses a horizontal groove cut into the body portion of the ball. The horizontal groove is tapered and intersects a vertical groove. The vertical groove in the body portion of the ball is aligned with a pin in the truck mounted hitch and lowered. When the ball bottoms out it is rotated so as to rotate the tapered horizontal groove to lock it into position. This hitch assembly requires the operator to twist and pull on the ball to release or install the ball. The installed position allows for a position in which the ball is retained only by its weight. There is no positive lock unless the ball is twisted into position.
It is an object of the instant invention to provide a gooseneck hitch wherein the ball can be selectively removed from the hitch which is simple, sturdy and economical.
It is another object of this invention to provide a gooseneck hitch with removable hitch ball having a secure positive locking system.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a gooseneck hitch wherein the hitch ball can be removed or installed from inside the truck bed in a single operation.